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Sound Matters 1

21/3/2019

 
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Welcome!

Welcome to the first edition of Sound Matters – Melco Audio’s newsletter to keep you updated on Melco news and industry insights.

Melco has created the world's first audiophile-grade source component to access, store, deliver and play high-res digital music without the use of computer hardware and peripherals. Our uncompromising digital music libraries components have been the talk of industry awards and are regularly used by leading audio manufacturers to showcase their devices. 

We want to make sure this newsletter is a valuable read for you, so please send ideas for future content you’d like to see to: hello@melco-audio-masters.com 
Happy reading and
​enjoy the music!

Best wishes



Alan Ainslie,
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Melco Europe General Manager
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Recent developments at Melco

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New models–N10 and N100.
At the end of last year, we were pleased to introduce two new models of Melco Digital Music Library–the N100 and N10. Both have the same intention as the N1 series–to greatly improve the sound quality of digital music, compared to any solution using IT devices or a PC in disguise–all whilst making the experience very simple.
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Both units are in new half-size housings, which are also shallow enough to sit on narrow shelves and have been developed in Japan for use in situations where space is restricted. The N100 has 2TB storage while the N10 with 3TB storage also boasts a separate linear power supply in the same compact housing for extreme performance.
 
Latest firmware V3.90 Firmware is now available–please remember that all new Melco firmware has release notes and updated Software User Guide. You can find them on the website here.
 
Security of Samba Shares In order to make Melco simple to import music, we use the industry standard Samba Share. Recently there have been security updates, so we have implemented a login and password to access the share folder. Login and password is nobody–all lower case.
 
Melco Master Dealers Melco have developed a training programme dedicated to creating a network of skilled Melco Master Dealers who have been trained and assessed in respect of Melco features, installation and support, as well as advanced Hi-Res music techniques and network infrastructure of hi-fi devices.
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You can view your local Melco Master Dealer here.
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We’ll continue to keep you updated on developments at Melco, both in Sound Matters and via our social media channels.


Alan Ainslie - Melco Europe General Manager 


Guest blogger, Jason Kennedy writes for us... (read it here first!)

​​Me & My Melco
Jason Kennedy - Editor, The Ear.net​

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I reviewed the N1A shortly after it was launched and was so impressed that I decided to keep it. Since then, it has become a reference point for all the servers that have followed, including new models from Melco themselves. ​

In the four years that it has been in my system, it has proved to be entirely reliable and trouble-free. The introduction of the Melco Music HD control App has been a real boon: in the early days, I used various third-party Apps that worked with varying degrees of success when using the Melco as a USB source for a large range of DACs.

I use my N1A as an archive for my vast digital music collection which consists of FLAC, WAV and AIFF files with a few examples in DSD and a smattering of MP3s of material that can’t be had in other forms. I find that the Melco approach both sounds better than most CD players but more obviously, makes accessing my music quick and easy; there’s no need to hunt for discs, of course, and very little reason to leave the sofa, or there wouldn’t be if I had remote volume control, the life of a purist is never easy!

I like the Melco build quality and reliability, and the ease with which you can put music onto them is a major bonus: the software enables you to add music via the front panel interface, too. 

I generally prefer the sound via a streamer of some kind and have had fabulous results with devices from Naim, Auralic, Lindemann and Aurender, among others. That said, I have had some pretty spectacular results with USB-connected DACs as well and it’s safe to say that the Melco has decent USB output.

I like the fact that the N1A has a dedicated ethernet output which provides a degree of isolation for the connected streamer and means that you don’t really need a network switch in normal system set up. This is doubly beneficial because it eliminates a noisy power supply from the system as well, and noise is the enemy of digital audio. I have to say that I am a convert to streaming audio and rarely use CD for serious listening; Melco is a big part of my musical picture.

Meet the Melco Master Dealer

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In each edition of Sound Matters, we’ll be focussing on one of our Melco Master Dealers.  Melco have a training programme dedicated to creating a network of skilled Master Dealers who have been assessed in respect to Melco features, installation and support as well as advanced Hi-Res music techniques and network infrastructure of Hi-Fi devices.
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In this edition, we speak to Alastair Gardner, MD at Signals Audio who are based in Ipswich, UK. 

What do you sell?
We sell audio equipment priced from the downright affordable to borderline unobtainable. All that we have, though, plays music and can justify itself against the investment required. Brands stocked include Melco, Naim, Rega, Kudos, Focal, Chord Electronics, PMC and Quad.

Why do you do what you do? 
I was a music/ record player nut almost from birth. I've no idea of how this damage occurred. Signals spun out of a childhood dream of having a hi-fi shop, but has ended up rather different to what was anticipated. We don’t sell kit but enjoy helping customers decide to buy it. 


Having made wrong calls in the past, it matters to us to make sure the customer is getting the right thing for them. This strategy seems to result in them coming back, too.
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What do you enjoy about Melco? 
It’s very easy to hear what a Melco music server does via UPnP and it was in this context that we first heard and were attracted to the brand. The steps in the range are easily discernible, too–reducing noise and cleaning up the data brings more musicality, tonal colour, dynamics and depth. It really is quite simple using a Melco and with a suitable USB DAC, it creates a music player that rivals the very best.

What’s a recent customer success story? 
A given Melco plus, say, Chord DAC has generally offered greater ‘fidelity' than a streamer of similar outlay–and it includes the music store. 

I guess our one proper ‘conquest’ was a customer who had moved away from a Naim CD 555 and bought a Chord DAC which was connected to a stripped out ‘Hi-Fi’d’ Mac mini. The Melco N1ZS was utterly transformative. 

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Customer feature

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Thanks to our customer Andrew from Athens for sharing his Melco in action

  • Melco N1ZH
  • MSB Technology Corporation Diamond V DAC
  • MSB Technology Corporation M203 amplifiers
  • Avalon Acoustics, Inc. Eidolon speakers
  • Argento Audio Cable cables
  • Torus Power conditioner

He tells us:

"The Melco came as an upgrade to an Aurender X100 which it outperformed by a considerable margin. Great works guys!"

If you’d like to feature in Sound Matters, please send a photo of your kit with a breakdown of models to: hello@melco-audio-masters.com or DM us via Facebook or Twitter


In the Press

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Here's the hi-fi press we're proud to have been featured in recently
REVIEW
​HiFi+ N100 & D100​
REVIEW
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HiFi World - N100 & D100 
REVIEW
StereoNET - N100 & D100

Something for you!

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Thanks to NativeDSD, we’re offering all friends of Melco a free DSD album download. Simply go HERE and follow the instructions. Enjoy!

Don't miss our next event!

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We’ve got a busy year of hifi shows. We’d love to see you there! Keep up to date with all our events, including our Master Dealer network workshops HERE

LET'S GET SOCIAL
Keep up to date with live news from Melco Audio via our Facebook and Twitter pages


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